Comparing Road, Bridge Quality by State

The nation’s infrastructure is a key priority for President Barack Obama this week, as Congress debates whether, and for how long, to fund the Highway Trust Fund — the federal program that disburses gas taxes to states for road and mass transit construction projects.

A construction project along Interstate 95

Getty Images

Federal transportation officials have warned the fund could become insolvent within weeks, potentially delaying ongoing repair and construction efforts across the country. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, for example, recently sent letters to states warning their funding is in jeopardy.

The president has traveled around the nation highlighting what the administration says is an aging network of roads, highways and bridges that need repair and expansion. As part of that effort to pressure Congress, the White House released a report saying many of those roads and bridges need work. (The House on July 15 added $10.8 billion to the fund, an amount expected to keep it solvent for 10 months, and the Senate is expected to consider a similar amount later this month. But the long-term fate of the fund remains unclear).

These maps detail the findings in the report, which examines more than 4 million miles of public roads and 600,000 bridges. The report says 14% of roads nationally are in poor condition — and one in four bridges is either “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete”.

The first map shows the total miles of public roads by state, with darker shades representing more miles. Large and populous Texas, not surprisingly, leads the way:

This map details the percentage of roads in each state that are in “poor” condition, as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Darker shades represent states with a higher proportion of roads in “poor” condition. Nevada has the lowest percentage of roads in poor condition, just 2%. Rhode Island and Connecticut have the highest proportion, according to the report: 41%.

The last map represents the percentage of bridges by state that meet federal definitions for being “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete.” These definitions don’t mean bridge collapses are imminent, of course, but they do help describe structures that might need attention:

About Real Time Economics

Real Time Economics offers exclusive news, analysis and commentary on the U.S. and global economy, central bank policy and economics. Send news items, comments and questions to the editors and reporters below or email realtimeeconomics@wsj.com.